Homemade Holidays ~ Decorating

When it comes to creating homemade holidays it doesn’t mean you have to do everything yourself. You don’t have to cook every dish, bake every cookie, make every gift, or craft every decoration. You don’t have to fill the season with handmade gifts and homemade decorations. It simply means you need to add your personal touch to what you do. When it comes to decorating that means creating a warm and welcoming atmosphere, one that makes you feel good when you experience it. Here are just a few ideas to get you started:

• Use familiar items and your everyday favorite things to decorate. Make them festive and give them a touch of the holiday spirit by adding a bit of ribbon, some raffia, greenery, bells, berries or holiday candy to add color and interest.
• Use family heirlooms to decorate. This doesn’t mean you have to set out Great-grandma’s crystal; simply use the decorations that have been around forever collecting memories as the years go by. Set out the things your children made, or that you made as a child, or those that have been handed down to you.
• Make decorating a family affair. Make some hot chocolate, get out some cookies and start sprucing up the house. When you spend time doing things together you’ll quickly create magical memories to treasure for years to come and the simplest decorations will take on new meaning as they become infused with these memories.
• Make things together to use as decorations. There are tons of things you can make including:

1. wreaths – use greenery, fabric, acorns or pine cones
2. coverings – create fabric blocks that can be used to cover your traditional decor such as paintings and pillows
3. boxes – wrap up the gifts you’re giving in beautiful wrapping then set them around the house to add a little sparkle. Or you can wrap empty boxes to set around and use them year after year
4. garland – string together fabric pieces, ribbon or bows, popcorn, or greenery to make your own garland
5. ornaments – use old photos, craft sticks, fabric, styrofoam, glass balls or cross stitch to make ornaments that you can hang on the tree or about the house
6. stocking – use felt and some craft glue along with a little glitter or bric-a-brac to make decorative stockings

Adding your own memories and favorite things is a sure way to make your holidays feel warmer.

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Inspiration for Homemade Gifts

I love inspiration! I was perusing the Plow and Hearth catalog while eating breakfast and found the most wonderful ideas for homemade gifts. Whether you are creating some handmade Christmas gifts or are looking for a unique birthday present, there is no limit to what you can make. In 5 minutes of looking through this catalog I saw half-a-dozen wonderful items which you could buy or that I might want to create myself to give as a home-made gift. Here are a few fun and really simple ideas.

First there were the bird treat Christmas ornaments. Well, I have lots of Christmas cookie cutters so I think if we mix up a mess of bird seed and peanut butter or suet we ought to be able to cut out shapes, or stuff the cookie cutters with the goop. Then simply poke a hole in the top, tie on a string and give them as handmade Christmas gifts.

Then there were the mason jar snow globes. They are so cute with a little scene at the bottom. I’m certain I can find a recipe on-line for the “water”, which I’m guessing is probably a mixture of water and glycerine. But this is perfect because I just adore Mason jars (they have so many amazing uses for hand-made gifts) and you can create your own customized scene that reflects the person who is receiving the gift. Can’t you just see the golfer in the bottom with all that snow swirling around? Very cute.

Then, my absolute favorite, on the back cover they have a lovely door decoration which is simply an old ice skate with greenery placed in the top. This one is perfect because we have a pair of old ice skates that I can do this with! I can’t wait for December so I can get some greenery and hang that one on the door. Then I can use the other skate to make a lovely gift.

When it comes to creative homemade gifts you don’t have to rely entirely on your own imagination, and it isn’t always difficult. Simply keep an open mind and, as you go about your days you’ll find ideas sneaking up on you when you least expect it. Inspiration is everywhere! (But write them down when you think of them. Then tuck the paper away in the same spot where you store the gifts you already purchased so you can find it later:)

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